Why is Speaker Layout locked in AVR Maestro?

Because Dirac Live is active on the Speaker Preset you are on, and the receiver itself locks the speaker layout while a Dirac filter is loaded. A Dirac filter is measured against a specific set of speakers, so changing the layout underneath it would invalidate the calibration. Switch to a Speaker Preset without an active Dirac filter and the page unlocks.

Why does the Audyssey page say Dirac owns this Speaker Preset?

Each Speaker Preset on your receiver is calibrated by one system, not both. If the preset you are on carries a Dirac Live filter, Audyssey has nothing to show for it, and AVR Maestro says so rather than showing an empty page. The reverse is also true: on an Audyssey preset the Dirac page reports that Audyssey owns it.

How do I unlock Levels, Distances and Crossovers?

Go to Speakers, then Preset, and switch to a Speaker Preset that has no active Dirac filter. Levels, Distances, Crossovers, Speaker Layout and Subwoofer Output all become editable immediately. Switch back when you are done and your Dirac calibration is untouched.

Is AVR Maestro blocking these controls?

No. The receiver reports each menu entry as available, disabled or hidden, and AVR Maestro renders exactly what it is told. When something is locked the app shows the receiver's reason instead of letting you send a command that would be silently ignored.

Home › User Guide › Why a control is locked

Troubleshooting

"Speaker Layout is locked" - and that is correct

Sooner or later you will open a page and find it will not let you edit anything. It is almost never a bug and it is never the app being cautious: your receiver locks these menus itself, and it locks a different set depending on which system calibrated the Speaker Preset you are on. This page is the whole map.

The one rule

A Speaker Preset belongs to one calibration system

Modern Denon and Marantz receivers store two Speaker Presets, and each one is a complete snapshot: layout, distances, levels, crossovers, and the room correction that measured them. A preset is calibrated by Audyssey or by Dirac Live. Never both.

That is why the two pages mirror each other. On a preset carrying a Dirac filter, the Audyssey page has nothing to show. On a preset calibrated by Audyssey, the Dirac page has nothing to show. In both cases AVR Maestro prints which system owns the preset instead of leaving you staring at an empty screen.

The Audyssey page reporting that Dirac owns this Speaker Preset — On a Dirac preset

The Dirac Live page reporting that Audyssey owns this Speaker Preset — On an Audyssey preset

The map

What locks what

Page	Locked when	To unlock
Speaker Layout	A Dirac filter is active on this preset	Switch Speaker Preset
Distances	A Dirac filter is active on this preset	Switch Speaker Preset
Levels	A Dirac filter is active on this preset	Switch Speaker Preset
Crossovers	A Dirac filter is active on this preset	Switch Speaker Preset
Subwoofer Output	A Dirac filter is active on this preset	Switch Speaker Preset
Audyssey	Dirac owns this preset	Switch to the Audyssey preset
Dirac Live	Audyssey owns this preset	Switch to the Dirac preset
Graphic EQ	Either Dirac or Audyssey MultEQ is running	Switch preset, or set MultEQ to Off
Tone, Bass, Treble	Audyssey Dynamic EQ is on	Turn Dynamic EQ off
LFE Distribution	No speaker is set to Full Range	Set a speaker to Full Range in Crossovers
Dynamic Range Compression	The source is not a Dolby bitstream	Play Dolby content

Individual rows lock too, not just whole pages. On the Speaker Layout page a single row such as Front Speaker can carry its own lock note while the rest of the page stays editable - because that is exactly what the receiver reported.

Worked example

The Graphic EQ locks for two different reasons

The Graphic EQ is the clearest case of why a generic "this is unavailable" message is not good enough. Your receiver runs room correction or the manual EQ, never both - but there are two different room-correction systems that can be holding it, and the fix is different for each. So AVR Maestro names the one that is actually running.

Graphic EQ locked because Dirac Live is active — Held by Dirac: switch preset

The unlocked Graphic EQ editor — Freed: the 9-band editor

Held by Dirac Live - the message tells you to switch to a Speaker Preset without a Dirac filter.
Held by Audyssey MultEQ - the message tells you to set MultEQ to Off on the Audyssey page, which hands the EQ to the manual Graphic EQ.

Once it is free, the toggle at the top turns the EQ on and the nine bands become editable. Full Graphic EQ guide →

Not a lock

"Unavailable" and "N/A" mean something different

A padlock means the receiver is refusing edits and told the app why. The message names the cause.
N/A on a Surround audio-feature row means the current signal cannot use that feature. Tap the question mark for which signal would.
"Unavailable - the receiver did not report a value" means the app asked and got nothing back. That is not the same as a value of zero or off, and AVR Maestro will not invent one. Tapping Retry re-asks. If the receiver's own web control page is open in a browser somewhere, close it - a Denon or Marantz will only hold so many control sessions at once, and that is the usual cause.

This distinction is deliberate. A control that reads "Off" when the app actually has no idea is worse than one that admits it does not know, because you would have no way to tell the difference.

How to switch

Changing Speaker Preset takes two taps

Open the Speakers tab.
Stay on the first page, Preset.
Tap the other preset.

The layout, distances, levels and crossovers all reload for that preset, and everything Dirac was holding becomes editable. Your Dirac calibration is stored on its own preset and is not touched by switching away from it - switch back and it is exactly as you left it.

The Speaker Preset page with Preset 1 and Preset 2

Common questions

Locked controls FAQ

Is the app blocking me?

No. Your receiver reports every menu entry as available, disabled or hidden, and AVR Maestro renders what it is told. When an entry comes back disabled, the app shows the reason rather than letting you press a control the receiver would ignore in silence - which is what happens on the receiver's own web page.

Will switching Speaker Preset lose my Dirac calibration?

No. Each preset stores its own calibration on the receiver. Switching to the other preset leaves the Dirac one exactly as it was; switch back and it is there.

Why can I edit Levels on one preset and not the other?

Because only one of them has a Dirac filter loaded. A Dirac filter is measured against specific levels and distances, so the receiver freezes them while it is active. The Audyssey preset has no such freeze.

The page says the receiver did not report a value. What now?

Tap Retry. If it persists, close the receiver's web control page if you have it open in a browser, and close any other control app - the receiver limits how many control sessions it will serve at once. Some settings genuinely do not exist on some presets or some chassis, in which case the app will keep reporting it as unknown rather than guessing.

Why is Dynamic Range Compression always greyed out for me?

Because you are probably listening to something that is not a Dolby bitstream. DRC data is carried inside Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos streams. On PCM, DTS or a network stereo source there is no compression data to apply.